Integrity, assumptions & Trust , Why they are important when communicating with horses.

Today some very important lessons were themed into one of my morning equine facilitated learning sessions. These were based on the principals of "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz. When communicating with horses these fundamentals are important and helped in a lot of  areas within today's workshop. Firstly  agreement 1 - Be Impeccable with your word , speak with integrity. Applying this when communicating especially with a horse is imperative , say only what you mean. If you avoid confusing the message with all sorts of  "white noise" or irrelevant misleading information, we get our intention across much easier. When a horse sees and feels congruence, or everything seems to be in alignment,  it will be more accepting and trusting of our requests. Basically you need to not just say and show what you mean , you must also feel it. Your intention needs to match your actions. Build trust by showing you are capable, dependable and fair. "Use the power of your word in the direction of of truth and love". This ties very closely with number 3 - Don't make assumptions . If you express what you really want,  and communicate clearly, you are better able to avoid misunderstandings . 2 -Not taking anything personally is another extremely important one when interacting with horses , they do not hold a grudge nor have an ego . This is why we need to ensure we do not let our emotions take control of our actions. If this happens and we let our fear, aggression, or frustration project onto the horse, we will only receive the same back. It will also destroy any trust that has been established. Self awareness and regulation of emotions are key to building a relationship and communicating successfully with a horse. 4 - Always doing your best is the most important approach here, if you are always doing your best in the moment and you remain flexible chances are you will succeed. Today was a very windy morning and this contributed to the challenge we undertook with the ponies. The wind added many elements to our fun session,  and required us to pay extra attention not only to self awareness, but our communication methods. In order to do this we needed to raise our consciousness in relation to our personal physiology , focus and language. We wanted to give not only ourselves but the horses the best chance of succeeding after all this was a first time attempt at trying to drive the horse from the ground.

How can a horse help you find peace?

An equine facilitated learning session can help us understand why we feel anxious and uncertain, it can also lead us to discover many other things.  When you place yourself in the present moment and focus only on you, the animal and the now, it ignites the mind body connection process. During interaction with horses we allow ourselves to connect and understand new ways of communicating including non verbally.  The changes and personal growth that unfolds is guided purely by feel, and is unique to each and every person, lucky enough to spend time in the presence of these amazing, wonderful and nurturing animals.  Horses have the most magnificent soul, capable of guiding us on personal awakenings and journeys beyond imagination. The following article explains in detail the wonderful insights and  magical moments that can happen when horses and human connect in an authentic and open way.  Please take the time to read and understand the possibilities benefits and joy that awaits.


Meet Your New Therapist. He's Wise, Compassionate...And Likes To Eat Hay

Master your emotions

What benefits could you get from understanding the factors that impact our emotions or how we feel?  These interesting facts about how physiology can affect emotion, can positively impact our self awareness, and bestow us with,  the ability to choose the emotion we want to experience in a given situation. How can we control our emotions through physiology. There is more to this then just smiling , you need to really physically show the emotion you want to feel , within your body in order to self generate that emotion. It is in our make up , ingrained within our physical being,  the ability react and respond to the everyday situations that we are faced with . We do this unconsciously , we react so to speak . How much do you pay attention to your body, and what it is experiencing and or feeling ? Also do you ask why do I feel this way? Is there a reason,and is that reason justified , or am I just unconsciously feeling that emotion. Watch this video where renowned psychologist and emotion-guru Paul Ekman describes how introducing conscious awareness to facial expressions can help one override and control their emotions.